The Pied Piper of Hamlin

Once upon a time, my city was overrun with people. Everywhere a rat looked, there was a person in the gutter, on the street, and even in cars!

Whenever one tried to have a meal, there was a person scampering across the table.

I remember trying to just take a nap on the beach, and there were people climbing all over me and around me.

My cousin Jeremiah had a fancy party once, and he was so embarrassed when people just started running into the rooms and across the floors of his house.

It was disastrous. Late at night, we could hear them running in between the walls and upstairs in our attic. My sister, Snowy, just couldn't sleep. I had to make her hot cocoa and put on some classical music just so we didn't have to hear the lumbering feet of the people.

One day, we decided to have a meeting at City Hall. The mayor, Mr. Rufus Ratfield, stood at the podium and cleared his throat.

"We have a problem," he said and everyone squeaked in agreement. "There are so many people about. We've tried hard to get rid of those pests. We didn't leave food out for them to find; we even created people traps. But they just won't stop breeding and making more people."

"And they're so big!" my Ma yelled out, holding my baby brother Fester. "They are so noisy. And not just at night, during the day too."

"I can't go to the beach anymore," Mrs. Frumpy, our neighbor, cried.

"The last picnic I had, I didn't even get to eat!" said Gadget's dad, Mr. Button. Gadget is my best friend.

"I know," said Mayor Ratfield. "I know. Like I said, we have a problem. But I'm out of ideas. Does anyone know what we could do?"

"Spray them!" said someone in the crowd I didn't know.

"Get the dogs to attack them!" cried another.

"Have a people-shooting-day!" someone else said.

"These are not very good ideas," the mayor said from the podium. "We'll just have dead people laying around in our streets. No one wants that. We can barely move them, they are so big."

"I have a friend," said Ms. Hushabee, "who knows a rat-fellow who had a problem just like ours. He called this pianist to come."

"A pianist?" said Mr. Button. "What is he supposed to do? Put them to sleep?"

"I know who you're talking about," said Elder Corn Nut. "He didn't have a piano, he had a flute. Or some kind of wind instrument."

"That's right," said Ms. Hushabee. Her memory isn't what it used to be, or so I've been told. "He had a flute. Or maybe just a reed. I don't know. But he played the people out of the town they were in."

"It was like magic," said Elder Corn Nut. "He just started playing and they started leaving."

"Well, that sounds great!" Mayor Ratfield cried happily. "We should call him. Does anyone know how to contact him?"

"Well, yes," said Elder Corn Nut. "But I've heard that he is very expensive. With a mean temper."

I don't like meanies. I looked at my Ma and Pa, and they looked at each other very worried.

"How expensive are we talking?" my Pa asked.

"He asks for a stash of one thousand rats."

Everyone in City Hall was very quiet.

One thousand rats! That would mean that everyone in the city would have to hand over their stash.  Even Gadget and I would have to pitch in, and we've been saving up for the new video game, Time Trigger. We barely had enough for Ape Island.

"Well, we might be able to work that out," said Mayor Ratfield. We all gasped.

"How?" someone asked.

"Well, if our city millionaire is willing to take care of the majority profit, we could certainly have enough." Mayor Ratfield and the rest of the city suddenly looked at Mrs. Burn.

She was a mean, wrinkly old rat. Her whiskers were wires that drooped down crookedly. She had so many wrinkles on her snout you could barely see her nose. Her little paws were smaller than mine, crinkled up like dry grapes.

"Figures," she snorted. "Tax the wealthy."

"We will be able to pay you back in time," said Mayor Ratfield.

Everyone agreed in unison. Although, secretly, the thought of it made us all uneasy. If we all owed Mrs. Burn something, then she might take advantage of us. She was mean like that.

"Aren't the people bothering and ruining your house too?" asked Mayor Ratfield. "I'm certain we can repay you within a year's time."

"Fine," she said huffily. "Yes, I can do that." She didn't seem to like it so much.

Everyone cheered happily.

"I will call the piper today!" said Elder Corn Nut excitedly.

Gadget and I were so happy, we ran around town singing, "No more people in our streets! No more people to steal our eats!"

Everyone liked our song and joined in with us.

Several days later, the piper showed up.

He looked very fancy and had very fancy clothes. The only thing that wasn't fancy was his little flute, which was old looking and used up. It was attached to a rope that was attached to his belt. His snout was always cocked upwards, like he was smelling something bad all the time. His hat was very big, like a big mushroom on his head.

"So, you want me to take care of all these people?" has asked haughtily to the mayor.

"Yes please," the mayor pleaded. "We would be so grateful."

"You know the fee?" the piper asked, looking doubtfully about our little city.

"Oh yes, we have all discussed the fee in length. It's not a problem."

So, we all followed the piper out to the docks on the beach. We watched as he started to play. The music was a little awkward at first, then it played a bit more smoothly. It still wasn't very pretty music.

For a while, nothing happened.

Then suddenly, like a stampede, all of the people came wandering out of our city like zombies. They looked entranced by the music.

Everyone moved to the side because we knew the people wouldn't watch where they were going.

They walked through our city, every single one of them, and they walked out towards the docks. The piper kept playing. He didn't stop.

Suddenly, all the people jumped off the dock into the deep part of the water. They disappeared! I couldn't even see them anymore; not even under the waves.

We all watched in awe.

And finally, after what felt like forever, all of the people magically disappeared in the sea.

"Where did they go?" Gadget asked me. She was whispering. She was a little scared.

"I don't know," I said. "Do you think he turned them into fish?"

"I'm too afraid to ask," Gadget whispered. "He looks meaner than Mrs. Burn."

When everything was done and over, the piper went to city hall with Mayor Ratfield. When Mayor Ratfield opened the safe to reveal the stash of one thousand rats, everyone gasped in horror.

Barely anything was there!

"Do you think you're being funny?" the piper spat angrily.

"No, no!" Mayor Ratfield cried. "Mrs. Burn was supposed to be able to pay for the majority. Where is her stash?"

"She never brought it," said the Stash Collector. He had huge bruises on his face, probably from a vicious cane-wacking. "She said that she changed her mind. That we deserve to be overrun with people if we can't pay for anything ourselves."

Everyone was horrified.

"I come here from far away," the piper hissed angrily. "I come here from far away with my magic flute, and you say you know the fee, but you don't have the fee. Do you think this is easy?" he started yelling. We all shrunk back.

"Well, we don't know," Mayor Ratfield cowered. "You made it look effortless. You did such a wonderful job."

"As mayor, you should have been aware of the situation before I put my lips to my flute!" the piper snapped.

"This is true, and I'm extremely sorry," our mayor said. "Just give us until the end of this day. We will have your fee."

"Fine," the piper hissed. He sat down at one of the chairs in City Hall. "I will not move here until I get everything I want!"

Everyone in the city ran to their houses. They gathered what they could of their stash, almost everything.

But a lot of people had been so excited that Mrs. Burn was going to take care of the majority, they had gone out and spent most of their stash on frivol from the traveling markets.

In total, we were short a stash of one hundred rats. Everyone was really upset. No one knew what was going to happen. After all, the piper had a magic flute. If he could send people to the sea, what would he do to us rats?

"Unacceptable," the piper said. He left City Hall. We followed him out to the edge of the town. He brought the flute to his lips, and we all sucked in our breaths.

What we heard.... what I heard... what me and Gadget heard... It was the prettiest sound ever. I don't know if I could describe it to you.

I'll try.
It was like, when you are in a dream, and everything in the dream is hazy. But you feel warm and happy inside. And everything in the dream is perfect. And when you taste a mango fruit, its the best and sweetest treat you've ever had. Or if you have a blueberry, the smell just makes your feet leave the air. And you feel like you're floating.

Anyway, the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. Prettier than church bells. Prettier than Mrs. Langpool's singing voice.

Gadget and I looked at each other, our eyes wide with excitement. Before we could even think, we started to follow the piper. Snowy came up beside me. We grabbed hands and started to skip. Fester tried to get out of Ma's arms, but she was holding on to him tight.

When I looked at the grown ups, they were afraid. I wanted to tell them, "Don't worry. This is going to be great." But they didn't look like they would understand.

All the children followed the piper, and the grown ups followed the children. We all frolicked up to a big mountain. Suddenly, a humongous door cracked open into the mountain. We all knew that we were supposed to go in.

Oh, the wonderful things that were beyond that door, I bet! The prettiest sounds, the ripest fruits. Happy dancing!

Ma grabbed my arm and I tripped down into the dirt.

Suddenly, I was hurting and when I looked down at my knee, it was bleeding. Snowy ran ahead of me, way ahead of me.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry," Ma cried while Fester struggled in her arms. But through her tears, she looked up and gasped. "Snowy!"

I looked at the big gap in the mountain.
Snowy disappeared in the darkness. So did Gadget. She didn't look back at me. I began to cry too, but not because I wanted them to come back. I wanted to go with them.

All my school friends left. Charlie, Pompom, Isabelle, Daisy. Fredericko, Mumpum, Bliggie, and Smartie.

They all went to the wonderful land that I couldn't go to. I could just imagine where they were going. Probably something like a Neverland, with no grown ups. And there were mermaids and pirates and adventures and the best fruits you've ever tasted.

I cried and cried. Ma and Pa grabbed me and cried with me.

The mountain closed up and the piper disappeared.

The End